U.S. vessel heads to break ice around Russian, Chinese ships off Antarctica

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The U.S. ship should take a week to reach Commonwealth Bay, Australia says

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is heading toward Antarctica

Its aim is to help free Russian and Chinese ships stuck in ice there

Governments of Australia, China and Russia asked for the help

At the request of the Australian, Russian and Chinese governments, the U.S. Coast Guard is stepping up to help break up ice off Antarctica that has ensnared a pair of ships.

The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star had been heading to that area anyway, having left its home port of Seattle early last month to eventually break through sea ice and refuel the U.S. Antarctic Program's McMurdo Station on Ross Island.

Now the icebreaker is retooling to help the Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy and China's Xue Long due to "sufficient concern that the vessels may not be able to free themselves from the ice," the Coast Guard said Saturday in a statement.

The Polar Star, currently in Sydney, will take on supplies and head out Sunday on what should be a seven-day voyage to the ships in Commonwealth Bay, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

"We are always ready and duty-bound to render assistance in one of the most remote and harsh environments on the face of the globe," said Vice Adm. Paul F. Zukunft, the U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific commander.

Capable of traveling at speeds of 18 knots (21 mph), the ship can continuously break through 6 feet of ice while traveling 3 knots. With its reinforced hull and special bow, the Polar Star can bust through as much as 21 feet of ice at a time.

After its new mission, the U.S. Coast Guard vessel is set to continue to its original mission in McMurdo Sound.